Water quality overshadowed the Boat Race

Jill Burdall, Beckside North, Beverley.

This year’s Boat Race was a national disgrace – not because of the athletes, but because of water companies dumping so much sewage in the Thames that the crews were in danger of contracting (often fatal) e coli.

The age-old tradition of tipping the winning cox into the river this year had to be abandoned in case theydiedasaresult.

The UK is an international laughing stock. We seem to be regressing to the Great Stink of 1858 which led to the development of London’s sewage system. Back then there was a danger of cholera. Do we have that again in 2024?

There are many health impacts from contact with raw sewage – gastroenteritis, hepatitis, e coli, typhoid – to name a few of the very scary ones. The water companies’ senior management who have allowed this to happen should be prosecuted. They have put lives at risk.

To be faced with this in the 21st century is also an unpardonable failure of governance, capitalism and privatisation.

Those Conservative MPs and Ministers, who in the passing of the Environment Act 2021, voted against ‘requiring improved sewerage systems’, against ‘requiring a reduction in the harm caused by untreated sewage discharges’ and against ensuring ‘untreated sewage is not discharged’ are culpable.

At the time they said the reason they voted against was to protect consumers from increased bills – ironic given Thames Water’s recent bid to raise bills by 40 per cent. They said “we now have the legislation in place to deal with our archaic sewage system while also holding water companies to account”. Failure and lies.

Labour is going to have to match Atlee’s 1945 Government for us to get through this. Yes, it will take ‘a decade of National Renewal’.

Trish Porter, Beverley.

How can a farmer be told he has the wrong flood water? The river has burst its bank, whose fault is that?

Answer: the River Authority, why, because they failed to check the river levels and bank and the reason for that is it wasn’t an important river.

It is the River Authoritity’s job to check rivers. I am a farmer’s daughter (and proud of it).

My father (Fenland farmer) made sure the ‘dykes’ were cleared every year to prevent flooding. So why, oh why, do the River Authority boffins think that clearing and checking river levels and banks is not required.

The reason is they are a load of pen pushers and have absolutely no idea about the countryside and how it works. Flood water is flood water.

You could say that I’m not paying my quarterly water bill because they sent the wrong water as I came out in a rash.

Come on, pay farmer Henry Ward what is due to him and more. This farm is his livelihood and his land has been flooded since October.

Dan Evans, Sheffield.

As biblical quantities of rain continue to fall across the country, my thoughts are with the farmers. The elements have not been kind to them in recent months and I hope they’re able to rally for all our sakes.